Zev is a concerned resident. He cares about his community. He, I, and other citizens spoke about this 60' hotel, and pleaded with the Council to abide by our codes. Only KC Carter & Paula Abbott voted "No." We totally agree with Zev's comments that follow. Please read and remember Zev's words: "They just don't care about us ordinary residents!"
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WHAT WAS THAT?
Was it a ‘tweak’, was it a ‘variance’, was it a ‘text amendment’ or was it subterfuge!? What was it that gave the Town Council the right to spot raise the height limit and change a ‘permitted use’ in order to accommodate the will of an hotel developer? Our esteemed Zoning Administrator and some others labeled it a ‘text amendment;' it cannot be a ‘text amendment’ according to both state and local ‘constitutional’ definitions. It was referred to on several instances as a ‘variance’; it cannot be a variance as it does not meet the ‘variance’ qualifications. In other contexts it was referred to as a 'tweak.' So, was it a tweak? What IS a tweak? It was stated (and accepted by the Mayor and Council) that [because the zoning rules and regs were 20 years old, occasionally it was necessary to ‘tweak’ them in order to keep up with the times]; area ‘X’ was ‘tweaked’, area ‘Y’ was ‘tweaked’, area ‘Z’ was ‘tweaked’; therefor it’s OK to ‘tweak’ whatever needs to be ‘tweaked.'
Yet, interestingly enough, the Mayor defends ‘notifications of public hearings’ in the Daily Territorial, rather than the apparent Constitutional demand for “publication in a newspaper of wide circulation within the community," citing that The Daily Territorial has been the ‘media custom’ for 35 years (just one of several procedural violations.) He defends ‘tweaking’ the ‘old’ Rancho Vistoso PAD plan ‘as needed’, and thus plays willy nilly with our rules and regs, our processes, and viciously tramples on the public’s RIGHT TO PARTICIPATE in it’s governance by denying and defying our right to due process.
This is merely a short synopsis of the wrongs committed by this Mayor and our Council during their reign of dictatorial application and is a glaring testimonial to the doublespeak of this administration. What next? Any ideas for an appeal to the Board of Adjustment (if so that needs to proceed quickly)? We can chalk this up and wait for a new administration but that won't change this current abomination or others that the Council might try to rush through; some of their nerves have been ‘agitated.'
It is my conclusion (and others) that ‘pleading’ a case simply will not work; they just don’t care about us ‘ordinary’ residents.
Zev Cywan
